ABOUT BIBLE STUDENTS MEMORABILIA

THE FILES in this department are facsimiles of publications distributed worldwide during the early twentieth century, in connection with the witnessing work conducted by the writer and preacher, Charles Taze Russell (1852-1916). Those posted here are from the United States and Britain, composed by various authors, each of whom was associated with Pastor Russell.

These are products of their age: the language may appear to the modern eye and ear as quaint, elaborate and sometimes mawkish, typical of late-Victorian sensibilities. Such observations do not nullify the influence which they exerted during their heyday. These are timeless pieces, presenting aspects of the Truth of God’s Word which have encouraged and blessed millions over the intervening decades.

The variety here includes Gertrude W. Siebert’s poetic, In The Garden Of the Lord; the illustrated, hard-cover book, The Photo-Drama of Creation, designed to accompany the widely successful slide and motion picture presentation of 1914; the Great Pyramid And The Bible, by Morton Edgar; The Bible versus The Evolution Theory – and other publications from the Bible Students movement.

One booklet deserves special mention: A Great Battle In The Ecclesiastical Heavens: As Seen By A Lawyer. The lawyer was Joseph Franklin Rutherford, a compatriot of Russell. In this apologia Rutherford mounts an able defence of Pastor Russell against ill-tempered and sensational accusations spread by plaintiffs of dubious motives, of profiteering (in the incident of the ‘Miracle Wheat’) and of kidnapping (in the case of one Ruth Galbraith). A few years later, after Russell’s death in 1916, ‘Judge’ Rutherford renounced many foundational doctrines presented in Russell’s Studies in the Scriptures – such as the restoration of Israel and the universal application of the ransom-sacrifice – and is now better remembered as the official founder in 1931 of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, a development which has ever since incorrectly linked Russell with that organisation.

All the documents here are in pdf, photographs of the originals, with the blemishes of use and time, rusty staples and all, and are not searchable. They are free of copyright. To keep each file to a minimum size and to speed the downloading process, we have posted low-resolution versions where necessary. You may request files of higher resolution free of charge from our service address: antilutron@comcast.net

We will augment the directory on a regular basis.

After you click on the link to the document there may be a delay of up to a minute, depending on the speed of your internet connection.

 

UK Bible Students

15 April 2012